Mike Focht 5/23/2025
Jesus Christ offends people. Not with His sin but by His perfection. It is interesting to go through the gospels and note when disciples, crowds, and enemies are offended by Jesus. We can glean much holy instruction and warning.
One of the most explicit and direct moments of offense came in Jesus’ hometown. In Matthew 13:54-57, we are told: When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things? So they were offended at Him.
First, we should take notice of the fact that those who saw the most of Jesus’ life are the most offended by Him. We know that even His public ministry stumbled His family and that His siblings didn’t believe in Him till after His resurrection. Those who lived in the nearest proximity and familiarity with Jesus’ perfect life were stumbled by it. Truly, familiarity, even with perfection, breeds contempt.
The fact those nearest to Jesus’ earthly life were offended by Him should be a warning to all who grow up in healthy spiritual homes and churches. Having a faithful Jesus presented on a daily basis does not mean we will come to love and appreciate Him individually. In fact, it may mean that we see Jesus with an unhealthy familiarity.
Second, we should take note of what brought about this offense. The words and works of Jesus stumbled those familiar with Him. Jesus’ wisdom was not congruent with their preconceived image of Him. Jesus’ miraculous works were not congruent with their preconceived image of Him. Translation: They were offended because they didn’t want to think of Jesus differently. The words and works of Jesus as Messiah forced them to relate to Him differently, and they didn’t want to do that. They wanted to keep Jesus right where He was in their minds—as the nice country boy down the street.
Jesus is alive and He still offends. We become offended with Jesus when we come to something new in His Word, or circumstances in our lives force us to think of Him differently. The Word says something about us, our marriages, our finances, our sins, and our lives that we never expected. Circumstances drive us to situations we never thought we would come to, and now we are at a crossroads. Our hearts say, Jesus, what are you doing? At that moment, we must relate to Jesus differently or become offended by Him. We bow in a new way to His holiness, His Lordship, His priority, His stewardship, and His plan, or we complain about how that is not the Jesus we know. The Jesus we know is different, and He never shocks or challenges us. Don’t you see? We have all faced the temptation to be offended by Him. Jesus still offends.
Third, we must see the outcome. Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. To be offended by Jesus is to live in unbelief. The sin of unbelief causes us to refuse the truth of Jesus’ words and works. If we retain our offense at new revelations of Jesus—we will also be forced to maintain our position in life. I mean that refusing to allow Jesus to define Himself to us will also cause us to cease our growth in Him. To be offended at Jesus is to live without divine revelation and the best of abiding life in Him. Who wants to live like that?